Preps Plus.

Crystal Lake Battle Goes To Rising South

They say volleyball is a game of momentum, and it has been rolling Crystal Lake South's way for more than a week. Crystal Lake Central is still looking for it.

Ever since the seventh-ranked Gators lost their season-opening match to No. 4 Huntley, South has been looking more and more like the team that was ranked second in the Tribune preseason rankings. Thursday night, it took another step forward with a 15-5, 15-4 victory over the visiting Tigers.

"We're getting our lineup set and playing well," said South coach Pete Kottra, whose team is 6-1. "We really executed our game plan well. Central is always dangerous. The score didn't indicate how good they are.

"We can play better. This is the first week with a set lineup.We have some things we need to improve on. (But) we have hitting, setting, serving--everything that it takes."

One of the changes put senior Stacy Barnett in the lineup at setter. Barnett, who had 15 assists, played sparingly as a junior. She had missed her sophomore year, when her family was living in Singapore. After a year of club volleyball, she won the starting position.

Against Central, she ran the Gator offense well, blocked at the net and served well. It was her best performance, no doubt, as it was the team's best effort.

"We scouted them really well," said Barnett, who set Monica King for a game-high six kills. "We all have a common goal every year to beat them and then move on from there. We have to start somewhere and they are pretty much our first stop."

Crystal Lake South, behind the serving of Michell Pahl, jumped off to a 5-0 lead in the first game. The closest Central (4-2-1) could get was 7-4. Barnett served the Gators to 12-4 with an ace and two Jill Campioni kills.

The second game wasn't much better for Central, ranked No. 5 in the preseason. South's Jody St. Joseph had three aces in a five-point run for a 10-2 lead.

"This is the worst we've played in 10 years," said Central coach Doug Blundy. "I'm getting old and don't have much of a memory, but I know we haven't played that bad in a long time. I haven't the slightest idea (why).

"We shouldn't lose by that score. We weren't aggressive, we made unforced errors, we didn't concentrate. I didn't think we played hard. I didn't see anything coming. We got blind-sided."